I Won't Tell If You Don't
by CineMariel
Summary: Beca and Jesse have to hide their friendship from the Bellas. Beca's not entirely worried they have something to hide, until they start to get closer. T for language.
1. Chapter 1

_The lights are off_

_ but you're not home_

_ your mind_

_ is not your own_

Click

As Beca tapped her space bar, she swapped the music from Florence + The Machine's cover of "Addicted to Love" and replaced it with the melody to Alex Clare's "Too Close." Quietly, jamming Beca fixed the levels and admired her handiwork. The songs melded together forming something entirely new and entirely awesome. She hoped.

These were her favorite moments. When she was working on her mixes she could lose herself completely. Until she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"It's for you," Kimmie Jin hissed.

"What?" Beca looked around confused.

Kimmie pointed to her ears.

"Huh?" Beca asked.

Kimmie just rolled her eyes and turned around.

"Oh!" Beca mumbled to herself, taking off her headphones.

"Becaw! Becaw!"

Beca sighed and strode over to the door. And wrenched it open to find Jesse holding a huge stack of DVDs.

"It's about time," Jesse said, walking right past her and settling down on her bed.

Beca stared at him, confused.

"Kimmie Jin," Jesse nodded at her roommate.

"I'm going to the library," Kimmie responded, grabbing her backpack and leaving abruptly.

"Well, she knows how to make an exit," Jesse quipped.

"What are you doing here?" Beca asked him, off put by his presence in her room.

"Your movie education," Jesse replied as if it were obvious "You're in dire need of one."

"And you're the one who's going to give it to me?" Beca teased.

"It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it. And I like to think I have what it takes." Jesse said, seriously.

Beca suppressed a laugh. Refusing to give him the satisfaction.

"But I have homework..." Beca attempted to get herself out of it.

"That you actually plan on doing?" Jesse asked, eyebrows raised.

"Not exactly," she conceded.

"Then come on," Jesse patted the spot beside him on the bed, "I brought snacks."

Beca searched for another way out of it.

"I don't know. After the riff off A ca-tensions have never been higher," she walked over to her bed "wouldn't this be a betrayal? Watching movies with the enemy?"

Jesse leant in.

"I won't tell if you don't," he grinned.

Beca, resigned, rolled her eyes and sat down next to him.

"What's first on the list?" she asked.

"Glad you asked. I thought I'd try something newer with you. You say you always get bored during movies. I think I have one you can't help but be interested in." Jesse dug around in his backpack until he produced.

"Kick Ass?" Beca asked dubiously.

"Not a traditional classic. But definitely not boring. There's a twelve year old girl who swears like a sailor and cuts a guy's legs off."

"Spoilers," Beca can't help but laugh "I guess I can give this a shot."

Jesse smiles.

"Kiss?" he asks.

Beca, taken aback, stares at him in shock.

Jesse produces a handful of tiny chocolate candies.

"Jeez Mitchell, I'm not a floozy. You think you can just seduce me that easily."

"Shut up and play the movie," Beca mumbles grabbing the candy from his hands.


	2. Chapter 2: The Morning After

Beca woke up feeling well rested and content for the first time in a long time. She rolled over, hoping she could get in a little more sleep before Kimmie Jin started loudly and pointedly unpacking her school supplies like she did every time Beca slept in longer than she liked.

But to Beca's complete surprise, she wasn't alone. She almost leapt out of bed in shock, but she realized that would probably wake this mystery dude up and only lead to uncomfortableness. So instead, she carefully turned over and peeked.

It was Jesse.

Of course it was, they had spent the night together. Nothing crazy. Just another step in her movication, movification, whatever the hell it was. They must have just fallen asleep.

It was weird. She hadn't slept that well in a long time. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she had slept more soundly.

She looked around the room. Kimmie Jin must have stayed out all night, not wanting to walk in on anything. No matter how many times Beca told her they were just friends and Kimmie was more than welcome to be in the room at the same time, her friends always pulled her away.

It was then that Beca got an amazing idea. The thing she couldn't stand about Jesse was how he never stopped talking. He always had something to say about everything. And Beca had finally found a way to silence him.

She stifled her laughter as she shimmied out of her clothes, tossing them across the room. By the time she was down to her bra and underwear she was positive that this was the greatest, if only, prank she'd ever pulled on anyone.

Beca heaved a huge fake sigh and accidentally on purpose nudged Jesse awake. Jesse blinked in confusion, taking in his surroundings.

"Oh, we must have fallen asleep after-"

And then he saw what she was wearing or, more importantly, not wearing.

"Hey tiger, you wanna get breakfast?" she grinned at him suggestively.

It was everything Beca could do not to burst out laughing. She could practically see the cogs in his mind turning as he desperately tried to remember last night.

"Umm," Jesse was speechless for the first time ever.

"What?" Beca widened her eyes, feigning innocence, "Is something wrong, Jesse? I thought we had a good time last night."

"Uhhh," Jesse looked around as if maybe an appropriate response would walk in the door.

Beca, not able to keep it inside anymore, lost it. She was hysterical. Laughing so hard she was crying.

"Do you want to explain this to me?" Jesse asked, still clearly unsure of what was happening.

"You're face!" Beca yelled, unable to get anything else out as she gasped for air.

Jesse seemed to realize that she was playing a joke on him. And gave her a begrudging smile.

"Okay, that was pretty good," he admitted.

"What did you think happened?" Beca asked.

"I don't know!" Jesse laughed "I was in shock!"

"Wow, I finally shut you up. I didn't think it was possible." Beca smiled, proudly.

"Yeah, who knew? My mom will be so surprised." Jesse joked.

"Please don't tell your mother about this." Beca ordered him.

"But she's always asking me if I've met any nice girls at college," Jesse continued to tease.

Beca hopped out of bed, collecting her clothes from around the room.

"You're an idiot," Becca laughed.

There was a knock at the door.

"Oh shit, it's Kimmie Jin." Beca's eyes darted around the room like a dear in headlights.

"I heard her friends bet her that we were sleeping together the other night." Jesse told her.

"How much?" Beca questioned.

"Like 50 bucks." he told her.

"Well, she's about to lose," Jesse laughed as Beca walked confidently to the door and answered it.

"Hey Kimmie-"

Beca cut herself off because it was not Kimmie Jin, but Chloe standing in the doorway, mouth gaping open. Because in her eyes, it looked like Beca had just been Trebelboned.


	3. Chapter 3: You're a Softie

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Thank you for reading. This chapter has a lot of Beca/Chloe friendship stuff but some stuff with her and Jesse at the end. Enjoy! Please review.**

"Chloe!" Beca yelled after her friend as she stormed down the hallway.

"Shit!" Jesse began to dart around throwing Beca her discarded articles of clothing.

Beca threw them on and headed out the door. Jesse started to follow her.

"Stay," Beca commanded.

Jesse sat on her bed, prepared to wait.

Beca ran down the stairs, searching for Chloe. After a few frantic moments of searching she spotted the redhead and caught up to her.

"Chloe, please let me explain," Beca panted, speed walking to keep up with her.

"Explain what?" Chloe retorted, seeming hurt "That you broke your oath? Or that you started seeing someone and didn't tell me? I thought we were friends, Beca."

"That's why you're upset?" Beca stopped, stunned.

"Yes!" Chloe yelled "I know you think Aubrey is full of it and the rules are stupid but I thought you at least respected _us_!"

"I do!" Beca cried "You guys are my only friends here. Besides Jesse."

Chloe falls quiet and motions for Beca to continue.

"All this sisterhood stuff isn't really my thing. But I made a promise and I don't break those, especially to people I like. And I like you guys. I'm not sleeping with Jesse. He's just a guy that always hangs out in my dorm and makes me watch movies and makes dumb jokes. We're not dating." Beca finished, hoping that Chloe believed her.

"You're just friends?" Chloe asked dubiously.

"Yeah, I swear I haven't been trebelboned." Beca promised.

"But he's so cute," Chloe said with a huge grin on her face.

"Shut up!" Beca laughed "No he's not. He's such a dork."

"So you don't find him attractive at all?" Chloe asked.

Beca paused a moment too long. She cursed herself. Why couldn't she just have said no?

"Oh my God!" Chloe squealed.

"Shut up!" Beca whisper shouted, looking around to see if anyone was watching them.

"So you're not dating him," Chloe stated "but do you want to?"

"I don't see how that's relevant," the words tumbled out of Beca's mouth before she could stop herself. Shit. Why did she say that?

"I mean he's a friend!" Beca miserably tried to cover herself but the damage was done.

"Oh yeah," Chloe teased "a cute friend with a great voice that you hang out with all the time."

Beca rolled her eyes at Chloe's glee.

"You won't tell Aubrey?" Beca asked "Because even though we're just friends I'm sure she would take any excuse to throw me out."

"I won't," Chloe told her "if-"

Beca groaned. Why did there always have to be an if?

"If," Chloe repeated sternly "you put a hundred percent into the Bellas. Come to rehearsals on time, really try. I think you could be really great Beca but only if you actually commit, okay?"

"Okay," Beca held out her hand to shake but Chloe wrapped her up in a huge hug.

Beca returned to her room to find Jesse, still on her bed, looking at her expectantly.

"We're in the clear," she told him.

"Good," he smiled nervously and gestured towards the door "I guess I should..."

"Right," Beca agreed.

Jesse opens the door but then, turned around.

"Did you have to swear to never see me again or something? Because I don't want to ruin your friendship with the Bellas or anything." Jesse blurts out all in one breath.

Beca paused. He looked so vulnerable. For someone Beca had never been able to shut up, she had sure silenced him today. Twice. He looked so nervous. She took a few steps closer to him.

"No, we're fine," Beca reassured him "I talked to Chloe. She's not going to rat us out."

"Why?" Jesse asked.

"No reason," Beca blushed. Suddenly she could only look at her shoes.

"What?" Jesse asked, laughing at her embarrassment.

"Uhh, I had to promise to come to practice on time and really start learning choreography and stuff," she mumbled.

"Just so we could keep hanging out?" Jesse said jokingly, but there was something in his voice that told Beca he was touched.

"Yeah," Beca said, still staring at her shoes "it's no big deal."

Jesse smiled and headed for the door again.

"I underestimated you, Mitchell. You're a softie."


	4. Chapter 4: Maybe

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading. I'm not sure how much longer you guys would like the story to continue so please review and tell me if you'd like it to continue. **

**This one is a little goofy but I like writing jokes for Jesse. Enjoy!**

Beca was exhausted. She'd had a three hour lecture, Bellas rehearsals had run long, and she had just turned in a paper. It had been a long day. All she wanted was to crawl into her bed and-

"Beca! What's- Did you dress up for me?" he took in her outfit "How did you know I was going to be here? Did you dress up as a... flight attendant for me?"

"Ha ha you're hilarious. We had costume fittings today. So..." Beca struck a pose, doing her best Aubrey imitation, "you like?"

"Very much," Jesse's eyes twinkled and the corners of his mouth were turned up "now where can I safely exit the plane in the event that we land in the water?"

"You are not funny," Beca told him, kicking off her heels "who told you that you were funny?"

"My mom?" Jesse asked.

"That's sad," Beca told him, struggling to unknot the scarf that Aubrey had tied uncomfortably tight around her neck "what are you doing here?"

"Just hanging out with Kimmie Jin," Jesse responded "I think we're bonding."

"We're not." Kimmie Jin said without glancing at them.

"We have this whole rapport going. It's a thing," Jesse assured her.

"Turn around. I have to change." Beca ordered, abandoning her attempts with the scarf.

Jesse did nothing. He continued to stare at her. Beca glared at him. He turned around as if she must have been looking at someone behind him.

"Me?" he asked, feigning innocence "Oh, okay."

Jesse buried his head in Beca's pillow as she walked over the closet to pick out something new to put on.

"Now what should I wear?" she heard Jesse mumble in a high voice she assumed was supposed to be an imitation of her "The blue flannel that makes me look like a cool alternative outsider or the _grey_ flannel that makes me look like an even cooler alternative outsider?"

"You're an idiot," Beca barked at him, suppressing a smile.

"You picked the grey, didn't you?" Jesse asked knowingly.

Beca threw the grey shirt on the floor of the closet, opting for a green sweater she saw in the back.

"Neither," Beca told him, sitting at her desk "I guess I'm not as predictable as you thought."

"I'm going to go study in Dana's room," Kimmie announced before promptly leaving.

"Bye Kimmie Jin! We should do this again sometime!" Jesse yelled after her as the door slammed shut.

"She hates you," Beca told him, unable to hide her smile.

"Uhh, no. Kimmie Jin hates you. She loves me." Jesse said playfully.

Beca laughed.

"What are you even doing here?" she asked, tugging on the scarf. Was Aubrey a sailor? How was she going to get out of this?

"Visiting," Jesse responded innocently.

"Why?" She asked, coughing when she accidentally pulled the scarf tighter around her neck.

Jesse tried to stifle his laughter. He was unsuccessful.

"Where are my scissors?" Beca screeched, her face reddening. She sprung up, ready to cut the poly-blend noose off before it completely strangled her.

Jesse grabbed her hand. Pulling her back on to the bed.

"Let me try," Jesse offered, trying to keep the laugh out of her voice.

He gently placed his hands on her neck. Beca flinched to counter the shivers this action sent down her spine.

"Sorry," Jesse quickly pulled his hands away.

"No," Beca said quickly "it's fine. You can-"

She offered her neck awkwardly.

"Oh, okay," his hands returned to her throat as he gently untied the not.

Beca watched Jesse as he worked. He was so focused he didn't even realize she was staring. She noticed that he bit his lip while he worked and his eyelashes were much longer than she would have thought. She realized that she had never really looked at him before. She was always searching for the next comeback and ignoring his dumb jokes and not really looking.

"All done," Jesse dangled the scarf in front of her like a cat toy as if he was waiting for her to paw at it.

Beca, a little dazed, forgot to roll her eyes.

"You okay?" he asked, looking concerned, his face still close to hers.

"Yeah," Beca said, shaking her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts "I'm just really tired."

"Rough day?" he asked, moving so she could lean against the pillows on her bed.

"Yeah, a paper, a big lecture, and a marathon Bellas rehearsal." Beca confided in him, laying down next to him and staring at her ceiling.

"That sucks," Jesse said kindly "but hey, you got a pretty sweet flight attendant costume out of it. How many girls can say that?"

Beca smiled.

"Do I hear a smile?" Jesse asked goofily.

"Maybe," Beca admitted.

"Is this the moment where you unknowingly fall in love with me?" Jesse asked, grinning.

"_Now_ it isn't," Beca shot back.

"Could it have been?" Jesse sat up quickly, faking panic.

"We'll never know," Beca said, eyes wide with false innocence "you ruined it."

"Shucks," Jesse "me and my big mouth."

Beca punched him in the shoulder.

"Maybe next time," Beca said, giving him the smallest smile.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews. This chapter is a lot of set up so there's no Jesse. But there is lots of Beca and Fat Amy. Enjoy! I'll have the next chapter up really soon. **

"You have to go!" Chloe shouted at Beca as she paced across her bedroom.

"Actually, I don't _have _to do anything," Beca responded. Laying on her bed, staring at the ceiling, and willing this conversation to end.

"It's the biggest A Ca-Party of the year! You have to be there!" Chloe planted her feet "Staying home is not an option."

"Not an option?" Beca echoed "Staying at home is always an option. I could do homework, make a mix, sleep. All of those are preferable to a party at the Trebelmakers' house."

"I am invoking The Code," Chloe said, crossing her arms.

Beca groaned. Ever since Chloe walked in on her and Jesse, she had the ultimate leverage. Leverage that she called "The Code." Beca didn't want to deal with Aubrey? Chloe invoked the code. Beca didn't want to attend a six hour rehearsal on Sunday? Chloe invoked the code. Thanks to her failed attempt at a prank, she was stuck being a Super Bella. And enrolled in a spin class. That she hated.

"Come on," Chloe wheedled "this is the last thing."

"The last thing?" Beca sat up, grinning at the thought.

"The last thing," Chloe agreed "you still have to try really hard in the Bellas. Or at least you should. But no other extra things."

"So I can quit the spin class?" Beca was almost bouncing with joy.

"You can quit the spin class," Chloe told her "but you really should stay. It's great cardio."

Beca rolled her eyes. But she smiled. She was glad to be free of The Code. She could have a small piece of her life back. Even though she was enjoying being a Barden Bella more than she'd like to admit.

"So... Jesse's going to be there tonight." Chloe said conspiratorially.

"So?" Beca asked "I see him all the time."

"Yeah," Chloe said, eyes wide "but not at a party. With costumes. And alcohol and a chance to make a tiny mistake that you could be thankful for for the rest of your life."

"Did someone mention drunken mistakes?" Fat Amy popped her head in Beca's room.

"You made it!" Chloe squealed, hugging her.

"Duh," Amy said "I gotta help you bitches get slutted up for this thing."

Beca smiled in spite of herself.

"So who are you making a drunken mistake with?" Amy asked.

"No one," Chloe and Beca blurted simultaneously.

"That was not even a little bit convincing," Fat Amy told them "now out with it. Before I shove bamboo shoots under your fingernails. Or the closest approximation of those I can find around here."

"Chloe is convinced that I want to hook up with Jesse," Beca explained "but I keep telling her we're just friends."

"Wait, you two aren't already hooking up?" Fat Amy asked, shocked.

"No!" Beca cried.

"Are you sure?" Amy asked, suspiciously "Because after the riff off it seemed like you two were ready to-"

"No!" Beca cut her off "We're not sleeping together!"

"But you want to right?" Amy asks "Because if I had a shot at him I would totally have my way with that-"

"I can't hear this," Beca stopped her.

"Because you're jealous?" Chloe asked her.

"I... am not jealous," Beca said "But Jesse's a Trebel. He's off limits. So... what's the point of talking about it? Right?"

"Yeah," Amy said awkwardly "hooking up with a Trebel is bad. None of us would ever do that. Ever. Because that would be... a betrayal."

Beca and Chloe stared at her. Clearly waiting for her to crack.

"You will get nothing out of me," Fat Amy said, deadly serious.

The girls conceded.

Beca couldn't help thinking. Would she be jealous if she saw Jesse with someone else? No. She'd be happy for him, wouldn't she? If Jesse got a girlfriend he'd be in her dorm less. She'd probably get way more work done without him hassling her all the time.

But, something told her that she would miss his dumb jokes and their movie marathons and the fact that he seemed perfectly happy with her being herself around him.

"So Beca," Chloe interrupted her thoughts "will you come?"

"Yeah," Beca smiled "let's get me slutted up."


	6. Chapter 6: What's the story?

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I wanted to get the next party scene up as fast as I could so it's a little short. I hope you like it. I'll try to get the next one up ASAP. Reviews are much appreciated! **

Beca was not a huge fan of parties. It was probably because she wasn't very social. Getting drunk with a bunch of strangers was not her idea of a good time. But Fat Amy and Chloe were not going to let her be a wallflower. They were determined that she have fun. So "fun" she would have. Even if she was dressed like a Sexy Lumberjack because all she had in her closet were plaid shirts.

"Excuse me, bartender? Could I please have more shots?" Fat Amy called out , adjusting her mermaid costume "Lots and lots of them, please? I would like to be very intoxicated."

Beca turned and realized that Amy was talking to Benji, Jesse's roommate. They had met a few times in passing. Benji seemed like a nice guy. And somehow managed to be nerdier than Jesse. Which was saying something.

"Benji?" Beca called to him.

"Beca! Hi!" Benji shouted over the music to her as he nervously poured shot after shot for Fat Amy.

"What are you doing working this party?" Beca asked him.

"Bumper let me do it!" he yelled back "Wasn't that just so cool of him?"

Beca gave him one of her few real smiles. She felt bad for Benji. He wanted to be a Trebel so badly. But as long as Bumper was in charge he was always going to be on the sidelines. Doing whatever degrading thing Bumper thought was funny.

"Yeah," she agreed "really cool."

"Have you seen Jesse around?" Benji asked her.

"Not yet, no."

"He didn't think you would be here," Benji told her.

"Really?" Beca asked.

"Yeah," Benji smiled "but he says he never really knows what you're going to do. So..."

"He did?" Beca asked, genuinely surprised at the warm feeling in her chest that starts making its way to her extremities.

Benji nodded.

"Have fun, okay?" Benji beamed at her before leaving to take more drink orders.

Beca set off to find Jesse. She was actually excited to surprise him. She was just imagining the look on his face when he saw that not only was she there, but she was dressed up when she spotted him across the room. He was talking to Bumper. She waved at him, but he didn't notice.

Beca worked her way through the crowd. She saw Cynthia Rose and Stacie grinding on the dance floor and smiled to herself. She noticed Aubrey drinking heavily with Chloe at the other end of the party. Chloe promised that Aubrey wouldn't be in any position to see her and Jesse hanging out. Beca had to admit that was really nice of her. Who knew having friends was actually beneficial?

"So I saw your lumber jack wandering around," she heard Bumper say drunkenly.

"Sorry, what?" Jesse asked.

"That hot goth chick you're always hanging out with. They one you totally eye-fucked at the riff off." Bumper replied as if it was obvious.

"Oh, Beca?"

"Whatever," Bumper slurred "you're hitting that, right?"

"That?" Jesse asked "Bumper-"

"Come on, man," Bumper said, putting his arm around Jesse "you guys are sleeping together. She's a Bella. Every time a Trebel bones a Bella we get that much closer to winning the ICCAs. True story."

Bumper chugged the rest of his drink.

"So what's the story there?" Bumper asked.

Beca was shocked. The warmth that had been spreading throughout her body was suddenly ice cold. She never thought she was a topic of conversation among the Trebels. She knew Bumper was an asshole but Jesse? Is this really what he thought of her?

"Hey guys," she walked right up to them and smiled widely "how's it going?"

Jesse's face fell and Bumper looked everywhere but at Beca.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Here's the next section of the party! I'm trying to update as often as possible. Would you prefer fewer longer chapters or lots of short ones? Thanks for reading!**

Beca never went to parties. And the reason she never did was staring her in the face. She had never particularly liked Bumper but she'd never seen him as an actual bad guy. An overly competitive, self obsessed idiot with delusions of grandeur? Sure. But a guy that talked trash about her, personally? Not until now.

"This is a fun party," Beca smiled her biggest fake smile and glared at Bumper "it's a shame to have to ruin it."

"Ruin it?" Bumper asked nervously "How are you going to- how are you gonna do that?"

"Because I have some bad news." Beca told him, her face the picture of fake solemnity "I haven't been sleeping with Jesse. So you're not going to be able to rely on that to win regionals."

"What are you talking about?" Bumper asked, feigning ignorance "I-what? You and Jesse? I never-what? You heard that?"

"Yeah," Beca retorted "I heard you."

"Well," Bumper fumbled for an excuse "what I meant was-"

"Shut up," Beca ordered.

"Okay," Bumper mumbled staring at his shoes.

"Get away from me," Beca told him, enjoying the temporary control she had over him.

"Yes ma'am," Bumper said before he speed walked away, bumping into almost everyone in the immediate area.

Beca turned to Jesse so she could start in on him but was stopped by the look on Jesse's face.

"What the hell, Beca?" he asked looking hurt and angry "Why did you say all that?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Beca couldn't believe him "Lie and tell Bumper that we were sleeping together and that I was excited to help you win the ICCAs? Are you upset because I made you look uncool in front of the lead Trebelmaker."

"Beca, that's not why I'm mad," Jesse told her seriously "I'm mad because you came in before I could say anything. I don't need you to fight my battles for me. I'm mad because all that stuff Bumper said, all that stuff he thought I did, was nothing like me and I couldn't stand him thinking that just because he's an asshole I am too. The fact that he thought I was just sleeping with you to fuck with the Bellas is insulting."

Beca was stunned. Genuinely nonplussed. She had never heard Jesse this angry before. She felt bad for ruining his chance to stick up for himself. She just couldn't help herself after hearing the way he talked about her and Jesse. Jesse wasn't the kind of guy who would sleep with a girl to beat her. He would never try to come between her and the Bellas. He wanted her to be happy. He was a great friend.

"I'm sorry," Jesse blurted, assuming her silence was an angry one "I didn't- I'm sorry I didn't defend your honor. Is that why you're mad? Because I was going to get to that. After the stuff about me not being like him..."

"No," Beca assured him "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I cut in before you could talk to him. That was totally uncool of me. You're right. You can take care of yourself."

"Because I'm a big strong man?" Jesse asked smiling.

"Shut up," Beca snapped. Simultaneously amused by him and annoyed that he ruined their moment.

If it even was a moment. It was probably nothing. Because they were friends. Jesse was her friend. A cute friend. But a friend nonetheless.

"Do you want a drink?" Jesse asked her.

"Desperately," Beca replied, returning his smile and taking his hand as he led her through the party. And as they headed to the bar, Beca couldn't have been happier to be with him. In fact, she was so distracted by the warm pressure of Jesse's hand on hers as he guided her through the party that she didn't even realize Aubrey staring daggers at them from the corner.


	8. Chapter 8: Whoops

**Author's Note: Here's the rest of the party and the aftermath. I hope you enjoy!**

"So you're like my bodyguard now," Jesse rambled as he pulled Beca through the crowd "you're totally the Kevin Costner to my Whitney Houston."

"Why do I have to be Kevin Costner?" Beca asked.

"Don't fight it," Jesse told her "it's who you are."

Beca laughed. She had given up pretending she didn't enjoy his jokes. They were dumb and cute. Not unlike him.

"A ca 'scuse me!" Aubrey appeared in front of them, arms crossed over her chest.

Beca and Jesse both jumped.

"I saw you from across the party!" Aubrey accused them, slurring heavily.

"And you hid and waited to jump out and scare us?" Beca asked, unable to believe Aubrey's level of insanity.

"I knew you had a toner for Jesse!" Aubrey pointed at Beca accusatorially.

"A toner?" he asked.

"A musical boner," Beca explained.

Jesse looked extremely flattered.

"Shut up," Beca snapped at him.

"I didn't say anything!" Jesse tried to defend himself.

"You didn't have to," Beca turned to Aubrey "nothings happening here. Jesse and I are not dating. We're not hooking up. I'm not philandering with the enemy. Happy Aubrey?"

"No," Aubrey cried "I am decidedly unhappy, Beca! I have caught you red handed and I will not allow you to-"

Suddenly Aubrey slapped her hand over her mouth. She convulsed.

"I will not-" she started again "You're breaking the rules!"

"We're not," Beca told her, eyes wide, desperate to get through to her "I promise."

Chloe nodded, unable to get any words out.

"And that's my queue," Chloe chimed in "Beca, Jesse, enjoy your night."

And with that she hurried a very green Aubrey to the bathrooms.

"What was that about?" Jesse asked.

"I guess Bumper's not the only one who's suspicious about us," Beca told him.

"Well, A Ca People are very superstitious," Jesse explained "and the whole Bellas/Trebels rivalry thing goes back for years. You and I have a forbidden romance."

"Friendship," Beca corrected.

"Right," Jesse agreed, smiling wide "what did I say?"

"Hey Jesse!" Benji called to them from the bar "Can I get you anything?"

"Sure!" Beca replied.

"You found him," Benji said, seeming happy "was he surprised?"

"Definitely," Beca said.

"Have you guys been talking about me?" Jesse asked.

"No," Beca and Benji lied.

"You guys are terrible liars," Jesse said.

Later

Beca and Jesse drunkenly stumbled in to Beca's room, laughing as they pulled their coats off.

"It's warm," Jesse mumbled.

"That's your drunk coat," Beca told him.

"I only wore one," Jesse joked, pretending to remove a second coat.

Beca was tipsy enough to laugh at that one. She covered her mouth.

"Kimmie Jin," she whispered.

They both turned to look at her bed. It was empty.

"Where is she?" Beca asked herself "Is she out? Kimmie Jin never goes out. Literally never."

"Maybe she has a boyfriend," Jesse guessed.

"Who would date Kimmie Jin?" Beca asked.

They both laughed. Jesse walked over to her bed.

"Aubrey must have been watching us like a hawk," Jesse said.

"Maybe we're not hiding it well enough," Beca told him "maybe you're not as stealth as you think you are."

"Oh, I'm exactly as stealth as I think I am thank you very much," Jesse responded.

"Really?" Becca laughed.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Jesse retorted before tripping and falling backwards onto her bed.

"Smooth move, Stealth Boy," Beca teased.

Before she knew what was happening Jesse playfully pulled her down on the bed. She gasped as she fell right on top of him. Speechless for a second, she stared at him.

"Whoops," Jesse said, not sounding very contrite.

"Was that an accident?" Beca asked, regaining her voice.

"Maybe," Jesse said in a lower, more gruff voice.

Beca desperately tried to look anywhere but his mouth but it was futile. She was fixated on his lips. Which looked very soft.

"Hey you crazy college kid, you!" Beca's dad bursted into the room. Beca sprung apart, but it was too late. Upon seeing Beca and Jesse on her bed her father's face fell. He looked concerned in that way only dad's can be. And Beca had to admit, this looked pretty incriminating.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is this your-" her father stuttered. Beca sat there and waited. Enjoying his awkward squirming. Her dad could very rarely be described as quiet.

"I mean I didn't mean to- I hope I'm not interrupting, Becs. Is this your boyfriend?" her dad was bright red.

Beca laughed loudly.

"No. God no. No no no no no. Not at all. This is Jesse."

"And with that incredibly flattering introduction, I'm out." Jesse grabbed his bag and headed for the door "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Mitchell."

And with that, he let the door shut behind him.

Beca couldn't believe it. What was eating him? All she'd done was make a stupid joke. What was his deal?

"I should really knock, shouldn't I?" her dad asked, nervously.

"Yeah," Beca responded, not finding this situation funny anymore.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I know it's been a while since I last updated. There's no Jesse in this chapter but there is some Beca/Benji friendship stuff. The next chapter should be up relatively soon. Your reviews are much appreciated!**

It had been two days since she'd seen Jesse. It wasn't abnormal. She'd gone longer without seeing him. It's not like they spent every waking moment together. But this lack of contact felt like estrangement. She had no evidence to prove it but it felt like he was avoiding her. And she couldn't stand it.

It turned out that the night of the party, Kimmie Jin didn't realize that Beca had gone out to a party. Her dad had shown up to visit and Kimmie Jin had told him that she had no idea where Beca had gone. This had made her dad unnecessarily worried about her and when he was walking through campus after a long night of grading and saw a light on in her room. He decided to visit.

And effectively ruined her night.

Beca wanted to be mad at her dad. She really wanted to blame him for the horrible twisting feeling in the pit of her stomach but she knew she couldn't. This was her fault.

She checked her phone again. Nothing. No texts, no calls, no unexpected visits. Jesse was avoiding her. Right? Or was Beca overreacting? Maybe he was just embarrassed her dad had caught them in a compromising position. Maybe he felt weird about what happened between them that night. Or almost happened. Probably wouldn't have even happened.

She checked her phone again. Nothing. Shit.

She wasn't going to talk to him. Or apologize. It wasn't like she had done anything wrong. She'd introduced him to her dad. She'd said they weren't dating. That was true. They weren't. Why did that upset him? And why did she feel so guilty?

So she didn't want to find him and apologize. But if she ran into him and then asked him if he was okay, that was fine.

It wasn't creepy. She was just studying outside his dorm. If she happened to see him and they happened to talk about that night then that would be okay.

The count was at four days now. She'd been studying outside his dorm for the last two and she hadn't seen him. She was starting to get a complex about it. Where was he? Had he seen her and started leaving the back way? Was he _that_ mad at her?

She leaned over her work. Attempting to look incredibly focused when she was anything but and she heard someone clear their throat.

"Beca?"

Beca's head jerked up, desperate to see who she thought she'd see.

"Oh, hey Benji," Beca said, trying to hide her disappointment.

"Have you seen Jesse today?" Benji asked tentatively, looking around as if he was worried they could be heard.

"No," Beca responded as casually as she could "I haven't seen him in a few days."

She gave a robotic shrug that she knew wasn't fooling Benji.

"I hope you don't mind," Benji said shyly "but Jesse told me what happened. We have a no secrets policy."

"That's fine," Beca told him.

There was an awkward pause. Beca waited for him to say something. Anything about Jesse. She needed to know just how mad he was and just how much sucking up she needed to do.

"Is he mad at me?" Beca blurted out, her voice almost breaking "It's just- we usually hang out a lot and he hasn't been over lately. Not that I care..."

She trailed off, unable to keep pretending that she wasn't worried. She missed Jesse. As dumb as it was, she missed his dumb jokes and his smiles and all the movies he forced her to watch. It made her sick to her stomach to think that she had hurt him.

Benji sat down on the ground next to her and gave her an understanding smile.

"He's not mad," Benji started "he's upset. Meeting your dad was kind of a big deal and you treated him like he didn't matter. He thought he was important to you."

Beca closed her eyes. Of course that was it. Whatever they were Jesse was relevant to her life and she shouldn't have laughed at the thought that Jesse could have been her boyfriend. Of course that was embarrassing for him. She should have told her dad that they were friends and introduced him for real.

"Oh," she said, meeting his gaze again "so what do I do? I feel like such an asshole."

"Talk to him," Benji told her "tell him you didn't mean to hurt his feelings and stuff. Explain how you feel."

Beca sighed. This was not going to be easy.

Benji got up and dusted himself off.

"Thanks Benji," Beca said, giving him a smile.

"You're welcome," Benji returned her smile.

He started to walk away but turned around, as if he thought better of it.

"He misses you," Benji told her before turning and leaving.

Beca really, really hoped so.


	10. Chapter 10: Apologies

**Author's Note: Hi all! This chapter's a bit on the serious side. I did a little bit from Jesse's POV. I hope you like it. Please keep reviewing! **

Beca was terrible at apologies. Therefore, this could only end in disaster. But Benji had helped her plan this one. So it couldn't be terrible. Okay, maybe it could be terrible. But that kind of thinking was not going to help her at all.

She sat down on Jesse's bed. Benji had let her in about ten minutes ago. Jesse should be back from class any minute. Beca's stomach was in knots and her palms were sweating. Like a gross amount. She wiped them off on her jeans, shaking her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts.

She took a deep breath. This wasn't a big deal. She could do this. No she couldn't. She got up, ready to walk out when she heard a key slide into the lock. Shit. There was no going back.

"Hi," Beca blurted out before Jesse could even see her.

"Ah!" Jesse jumped, clearly surprised by her presence.

"Hey Jesse," Beca greeted him again.

"What are you doing in my room?" Jesse asked looking more confused by her presence than annoyed. That was a start.

"Benji let me in," Beca told him "I wanted to talk to you about what happened the other night."

"Okay," Jesse said, not offering anything but not keeping her from talking.

"Okay," Beca had no idea how to start "I shouldn't have acted like that the other night."

She paused and looked to him as if to ask if what she said was okay. He nods.

"I don't like letting my dad in on stuff. He left a long time ago and I don't consider him a part of my life. My... thing with you. It feels personal. It's not for him or anybody else to know about. I'm sorry that I said that stuff in front of him. It was really insensitive of me. I didn't realize it would hurt your feelings."

Jesse looked at her, he couldn't believe she was being this open with him. He was possessed by this urgent need to kiss her or at least hold her close but he knew it was a bad idea. Beca had never been this honest with him about her feelings. It seemed greedy to want more.

Beca saw Jesse's hands twitch. She wondered if that was a good thing. The next part was going to be the worst so she moved her gaze from his eyes to his chest.

"I'm sorry, Jesse. Can you forgive me?"

The moment he kept her waiting was awful. Her breath was caught in her throat and she could practically hear her own heartbeat. What if he didn't forgive her and she was just awkwardly standing here in his room with a guy who couldn't accept her apology? What if he told her they couldn't be friends anymore? What if he yelled? What if he never said anything?

"Of course I can forgive you, Beca." Jesse gave her a warm smile.

Beca couldn't believe her luck. Not only was he not mad but he was smiling at her.

"Really?" her voice caught a little.

"Yeah," he told her "I wasn't mad. I just... thought that you were embarrassed. That you didn't want me to meet your dad. We spend so much of our time keeping... this a secret- I guess I started to worry that you didn't really want me around."

"No, I want you around." Beca was shocked by the words that tumbled out of her mouth without her consent.

"Good," Jesse grinned at her.

"I have a surprise for you," Beca said giving him a big smile.

"Yeah?" Jesse asked hopefully.

"Come on,"

Beca lead him out of his room, all the way to the front of his building. She kept her mouth shut, letting the mystery build.

"Where are you taking me?" Jesse asked her.

"It's a secret," Beca told him.

"How do I know it's not a scary place?" Jesse asked her "Your terrifying ear spike is a dead giveaway that you hang out in spooky places."

"Shut up," Beca told him. She led him to the benches outside his dorm.

She led him to a man reading a newspaper.

"Dad?" Beca asked, tentatively.

"Becks, hey there," her dad gave her a good natured smile.

"Dad, this is Jesse," Beca gestured to Jesse "He's a Trebelmaker, which is the all guys a cappella group. He's a really good friend of mine. You didn't get to meet him properly the other night so I wanted to actually introduce you."

"Hello, Jesse," Beca's dad shook his hand "it's great to meet you."

"You too, Mr. Mitchell," Jesse said eagerly, grasping his hand.

Beca sighed, content for the first time since the party. Jesse looked at her for a minute. He seemed so happy. She had done that. And that was pretty cool.


	11. Chapter 11: Jealous

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. it's a short one and it's from Jesse's POV. Someone suggested that I write about Jesse getting jealous of Beca and another guy so I thought I'd try it out. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. **

Jesse didn't dislike a lot of people. He felt like he was a pretty easygoing guy and he prided himself on getting along with pretty much everyone. But he didn't like Luke. At all.

He didn't like the way Luke ran the station. He didn't like that he always had to get Luke's lunch. He couldn't stand that Luke only played low key angsty hipster music after 8 at night. And he really didn't like the way Luke looked at Beca.

So that day when Beca was stacking CDs and he noticed Luke staring at her ass he reacted unfavorably and let his jealous side show a little bit.

"Hey, Beca," Jesse said, bending down to help her "why don't I get those? You can sort those ones on the top shelf."

"Okay," Beca said, looking slightly confused.

Jesse took this opportunity to send a smug look in Luke's direction.

"Luke, why don't you go back to the booth? We've got this." Jesse smiled at him brightly, basking in the glow of his victory.

But Luke, ignored him, his eyes fixed on something behind Jesse.

Jesse turned around to see what was distracting his boss. It was Beca, She had taken her jacket off revealing a short t shirt that was riding up exposing her lower back. Jesse was momentarily mesmerized by the contrast her dark hair and her fair skin created. Normally he would have been perfectly fine with this choice of outfit. But it couldn't have been a worse time for it.

"Beca?" Jesse cleared his throat.

"Yeah," Beca turned around, slightly annoyed.

"I think there's a crate of CDs on the desk that should be on that shelf. Can you check it out?" Jesse said, scrambling to keep Luke from looking at her.

"Fine," Beca returned to the desk.

"Luke?" Jesse glanced back at his boss "The booth?"

But Luke's eyes were glued to something else. Jesse followed his gaze back to Beca who was leaning over the desk, her low cut shirt exposing-

Jesse looked away. He really could not win today.

"Jesse?" Luke took Jesse away from his less than gentlemanly thoughts "Can you grab my lunch?"

"Sure, Luke." Jesse sighed, defeated.

Luke returned to the booth and Jesse picked up his coat. He hated going out in the snow and waiting thirty minutes in the lunch rush to get Luke's stupid lunch which he always complained was too cold. What was Jesse supposed to do? Control the weather and make sure it didn't affect his precious cheeseburgers. And he almost never payed him back.

He was just about to leave when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder.

"What?" he spun around to find Beca giving him a smug grin.

"And that is why I never have to get his lunch," Beca grinned at him, putting her jacket back on and zipping it up to the top.

Jesse's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe her.

"You are evil," he told her, trying to keep the smile off his face.

"Have fun outside."

And with that, she turned and walked away.


	12. Chapter 12

They were watching a movie. Something stupid that Beca was not really invested in or paying attention to. For some reason, tonight she was having difficulty ignoring the fact that there was a boy in her bed. A platonic male friend who was there solely to watch movies and nothing else who got along with her father and carried around juice packs, but still. A boy. A handsome, funny, sweet boy with the voice of an incredibly sexy angel. So... the movie wasn't really on her mind.

Beca watched as the predictable ending unfolded. The guy was just about to get the girl when- it froze.

"Shit," Jesse mumbled. He forcefully tapped the space bar on his laptop, as if that would unscratch his DVD. But nothing happened. Beca hid her smile.

"Oh no," Beca said, full of purposefully transparent false grief.

"I know you're really broken up about it," Jesse's words dripped with sarcasm. She kind of liked it when he got angry. She liked that he had an edge to him.

"What are we going to do?" she asked.

"I don't know," Jesse continued to stare at his failing laptop "maybe they have another copy at the library and we can watch the end..."

"Or..." Beca trailed off suggestively. She looked at him and let a devilish smile slowly spread across her lips.

Jesse cleared his throat nervously.

"Or?" he asked, trying to keep the hopefulness out of his voice. He had been shot down too many times to logically believe something was going to happen between them tonight. But illogically, his mind was racing.

Beca took Jesse's laptop and gently placed it on her desk. She turned back around and inched closer to him, never breaking eye contact. She stopped just short of his lips, their noses almost touching. She could feel his breath tickling her cheeks.

She dropped her gaze to his full lips. He gently tucked a stray piece of her hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering, trailing down her neck.

Beca couldn't take it anymore. She kissed him. Hard. She gripped the back of his neck as his lips eagerly shaped themselves around hers.

Desperate to be closer to him, she swung her leg over his body, straddling him. He must have felt the same way because he gripped her so close she could barely inhale. One of his hands was tangled in her hair, the other slid down to the small of her back.

Beca emitted an unmistakable sigh of pleasure when his hand crept under her shirt and began to trace patterns on her back. She could feel Jesse's satisfied smile and she bit his lip in punishment. In retaliation, he swung her around so she was lying on her back with him on top of her.

Beca was shocked to find him so capable. She had trouble reconciling this guy with the nerd that was so easily flustered by her remarks about Indiana Jones. At the moment, she had trouble thinking about anything but his lips as they glided down her neck and to her collarbone.

Unable to think of anything but getting closer to him, Beca's fingers searched for the hem of Jesse's shirt. She tugged, pulling it over his head and was shocked to find that under all that plaid and t shirts was... lots of muscles.

Jesse grinned at her reaction.

"Shut up," she snapped, annoyed at his smugness.

"Make me," he told her, his smile widening even more.

Beca took his face in both hands, fully intending to do so when-

She woke up.

Beca woke up, all of her sheets tangled around her feet. She must have pushed them off in her sleep. Sleep. She had been sleeping. And she had had a dream. About Jesse. And they had-

Oh, God.

Beca sat up, her hands in her hair, her cheeks flushed. She could not have had that dream about Jesse. She and Jesse were friends. They were pals. There was nothing in between them. Besides friendship. Platonic friendship. He was her friend.

That she really wanted to make out with.

No she didn't.

Her phone buzzed, and Beca welcomed the distraction. Whether it was her dad or a surprise Bella rehearsal, anything to take her mind off the dream.

"Hey," she answered the phone, cradling it between her cheek and her shoulder as she got out of bed.

"Hey Kevin Costner, it's Whitney. Wanna get breakfast?" she could hear Jesse's smile as he referenced The Bodyguard. Just like he had at the party. Where Chloe had told her to make a drunken mistake with Jesse.

Beca let the receiver fall to the ground at the thought.

It was too early in the morning for this shit.

"Beca?" she heard Jesse's faint voice coming from the ground.

"Yeah?" she picked it up off the floor.

"Do you want to get breakfast with me?" Jesse asked again.

Beca paused. Did she? Could she? All she could think about was Dream Jesse and how good a kisser he was.

"Beca?" Jesse drew her name out slowly, like she was an idiot.

"Yeah," Beca blurted out "meet me at the diner in an hour."

She jabbed the end call button on her phone before she could humiliate herself further. This should be interesting.

**Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I've been toying with the idea of a dream sequence for a while. Initially I thought I'd do it as a one shot but it fits in with their relationship growing and developing over time so I put it here. Thank you so much! Please keep reviewing. **


	13. Chapter 13: Pancakes

**Author's Note: Hey guys! This one's a bit short but I really wanted to get an update out fast. I hope you like it. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. **

Beca was late to breakfast. Normally she could just roll out of bed, brush her teeth, put on a clean shirt and she'd be ready to go. But this time she felt like she had to shower, put on make up, do her hair. All of that and her lengthy internal debate about which pair of boots said "I look cool but I didn't really try" had made her ten minutes late.

How was she this nervous? It wasn't like Jesse knew about the dream. And it wasn't like the dream had meant anything. Dreams were just weird combinations of the things you had thought of during the day twisting and turning in your brain until something bizarre and unrecognizable popped into your brain. Just because she dreamed about making out with Jesse, it didn't mean that was something she actually wanted.

It was probably just the combination of hanging out with Jesse and them watching Star Wars together. Han Solo... now there's someone Beca would make out with.

She stumbled into the diner. Slightly out of breath from her power walk to compensate for her lateness. She really should have taken Aubrey's cardio suggestion seriously. Maybe she shouldn't have quit that spin class she and Chloe had been taking.

Speaking of Chloe, Beca saw the redhead behind the bar, serving coffee to patrons. Chloe waved, her smile widening as if she had realized something. Her gaze shifted to the booth in the back where Jesse sat. Beca did her best to ignore the implication of Chloe's look. But her cheeks reddened in embarrassment.

Beca shook her head, trying her hardest to clear her mind. Instead she tried to remember the choreography to the Bella's dance routine. She went through every step in her head, ridding her brain of Dream Jesse's kisses. _Head down, look up, trace the square. Smile. _

She was pretty successful until Jesse's eyes locked on to hers.

"Hey Godot, I've been-"

"Waiting for me?" she cut him off, not wanting to listen to his nerdy punchline "Original."

"Ouch," Jesse reacted "are you not a morning person?"

"No," Beca said honestly.

He smiled at her widely.

_Step ball change. Turn and smile. _

"I'm getting pancakes," Jesse announced "do you want pancakes? Pancakes sound amazing."

"I'm more of a waffle person, myself." Beca admitted.

"Oh," Jesse responded sarcastically "because pancakes are too mainstream?"

Beca hid her smile.

"Are you saying you're too good for pancakes, Beca Mitchell?" Jesse pretended to interrogate her "Are you better than pancakes? The most enduring breakfast food of all time?"

"Is that accurate?" Beca asked, stifling her laughter at Jesse's commitment to this ridiculous bit.

"Oh, it's accurate alright," he shot back "the pancake goes all the way back to the Ancient Egyptians. Well them and the Ancient Greeks. It's unclear who really started the tradition. But boy has it lasted."

"You're dumb," Beca told him, openly laughing "you are a dumb person."

"How dare you," Jesse gave her a playful shove "I am a serious breakfast historian."

And with that one touch Beca was transported back to her dream. She couldn't help but remember how gently Dream Jesse had touched her face. And how tightly he had gripped her to him. Her skin started to feel flushed from the memory of his lips on her neck.

"Coffee?" Beca whipped her head around to find Chloe standing at the foot of their table with a pot of coffee in her hand.

Beca nodded.

_Spread your arms out, bring them back in, make a heart with your hands and let it beat. _

"Thanks Chloe," Jesse's voice was friendly "are you guys working on your number for the semifinals."

"Yep," Chloe said, pouring him his coffee "we're working hard. Right, Beca? Beca?"

"Yeah," Beca answered quickly, embarrassed by her delay.

"We've got a pretty great set prepared," Jesse confided "you better bring your A Game."

"Oh we- _shit_!" Chloe's face paled.

"What?" Jesse cried, looking scared by her sudden change in tone.

"Hide under the table, now!" Chloe whisper yelled.

Beca turned around, following her gaze, only to see Aubrey walk in the diner. She dove under the table.


	14. Chapter 14: Facepalm

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry I've taken so long to update! Thank you for all of your reviews. I will do my absolute best to have a new chapter up soon. I hope you like it!**

_So much for keeping things platonic, _Beca thought to herself as she and Jesse scooted closer together to hide from Aubrey. Why had Chloe told them to hide? They were here as friends. But more importantly, why did they both listen to her? Beca had never felt like she had to hide their friendship from Aubrey. Clarify that they weren't sleeping together, maybe. Sure, avoiding Aubrey was probably smart but she had never felt like the two of them had something to hide.

Until that dream. Maybe there was something between them that Aubrey shouldn't know about.

"I'm going to go check on Aubrey. Wait here until I get back," Chloe whispered through gritted teeth before turning on her heel and leaving them alone.

Jesse snuck his hand up on top of the table and grabbed his coffee. Beca marveled at his ability to make himself comfortable in the weirdest of situations.

"What?" Jesse asked, put off by her look.

"Nothing," Beca said quickly.

"Seriously?" Jesse asked.

"You just..." Beca tried to think of a way to say this that didn't make her sound like a spaz "you're settling in. Like you always do."

"Yeah," Jesse smiled, flattered that she noticed "it's my thing."

_Look off to side, back to the front. Spin. _

"Well, this is a weird situation," Jesse said conversationally.

"You're not wrong," Beca agreed, unable to keep the smile off her face. He's funny sometimes. She's allowed to smile when he does something smile-worthy. Friends do that. Right?

"So where were we?" Jesse asked in a low voice leaning in.

Beca paniced. She had no idea what was happening. Was he trying to kiss her?Her instincts kicked in and she thrusted her palm into Jesse's forehead to stop his advance.

_There is no way that was the normal response to that,_ Beca immediately thought, regretting her defensive maneuver.

"What the hell, Beca?" Jesse cried.

"Keep your voices down!" Chloe was back, bussing the table.

"Sorry," Beca and Jesse both mumbled. Beca said it more to Jesse than to Chloe, who gave her weird look.

"Now here's how it's going to work," Chloe whispered as collected the silverware from their table "Beca, I'm going to text you in a minute and you'll hop up from corner and pretend you came in from the back door to grab a coffee to go. You and I will distract Aubrey while Jesse makes a getaway. Worst case scenario you were both in the diner at the same time. Nothing suspicious about that."

"Great plan," Jesse beams, caught up in the dramatics of the situation "quick question, though: Why all the stealth stuff? Don't get me wrong. I _love _it. It's very Bond. But can't me and Beca just eat breakfast together?"

"Any other day, yes." Chloe told him "But not today. Or tomorrow. Maybe not for a couple weeks."

"But why?" Jesse asked.

"Gotta go," Chloe whispered hurriedly before speeding off.

"So where were we?" Jesse repeated "Oh, right. I was going to ask you about pancakes and you tried to break my skull."

"Sorry," Beca blurted out "weird morning. The whole Aubrey thing has got me freaked out. I'm on thin ice with her as it is and you know I can't afford to get kicked out of the Bellas..."

She trailed off as her hand snuck up to the table to grab a fist full of napkins from the dispenser. She held them up as a kind of peace offering and started to try to wipe the coffee off of Jesse's dripping shirt. She hears Jesse's breath catch for a second as her hand glides over his contours of his chest. She looks up at him to make sure that Aubrey didn't see them. But he's just looking at her intensely. She's frozen. She can't remember a single dance step from the Bellas' number. All she can think about is his warm brown eyes and how close his full lips are to hers.

She takes a deep breath, about to move in and find out if this Jesse is as good at kissing as the one in her dreams when her phone buzzes.

It's Chloe, telling her to come out from underneath the table and run in to Aubrey.

"Well, that's me." Beca says just to say something.

"Good luck in the field, agent." Jesse says shakily. He clearly wasn't immune to the moment they had just had.

And with that Beca crawled away, feeling very confused.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Hi! I tried to get this chapter out as fast as I could because there's not a lot of Beca and Jesse in this one. But there's lots of stuff about Beca, Chloe, and Aubrey's friendship. I hope you like it!**

"Beca?" Chloe's eyes widened in fake surprise and it was all Beca could do to suppress an eye roll.

"Hey, what's up guys?" Beca sat down at the bar next to Aubrey.

"Everything's the worst," Aubrey said in a huff.

Beca took a deep breath and tried her best to have a normal reaction to Aubrey's melodramatic answer.

"Trust me," she said "I'm not having the best day either."

"Really?" Aubrey asked "Worse than receiving a prank phone call from some girl Bumper paid off who pretended to be a Bella alum?"

"What?" Beca asked, confused.

"Bumper paid a girl to call me up and pretend to be a former Bella. She asked a bunch of questions about our setlist and even talked about us singing at her wedding. It wasn't until she started giving me all these really horrible notes about how we never sing anything new and how our uniforms look stupid that I heard Bumper laughing over the phone."

Aubrey slumped down, staring at her coffee listlessly.

"Aubrey, I'm really sorry." Beca couldn't help but feel for her "That's terrible."

"It doesn't matter," Aubrey said, failing to hide her emotions effectively "Bumper and his girlfriend are idiots."

"Oh come on," Beca laughed "there is no way that guy has a girlfriend. Did you see those cargo pants he wore the other day. Those are not the pants of a guy in a relationship. Trust me."

Aubrey cracked a smile.

"So what's going on with you, Beca?" Chloe asked conversationally, clearly delighted they were all getting along.

"Oh nothing much," Beca answered nonchalantly.

"You said you were having a bad morning?" Aubrey asked, seeming genuinely concerned.

Beca froze, as she saw Jesse crawling out from under the table. She tried not to watch as he tripped, knocking over chairs. Aubrey started to turn to see the source of the noise.

"I had a weird dream!" Beca yelled, desperate to recapture Aubrey's attention.

"What about?" Aubrey asked, confused.

"A guy friend of mine," Beca blurted out, watching Jesse dart out the back door.

Chloe's eyebrows were raised and her jaw was dropped.

"What happened?" Chloe asked eagerly.

"Was it Jesse?" Aubrey asked suspiciously.

"No!" Beca denied loudly "It was a guy from back home that I still keep in touch with. We're friends. Good friends. But last night I had a dream where we kinda... made out a little bit and I woke up before anything else could happen."

"Oh," Aubrey considered this.

"Aubrey took intro to psych last semester," Chloe chimed in.

"Do you think it means anything?" Beca asked nervously.

"We didn't really talk about dreams too extensively," Aubrey explained "but a kiss can mean a lot of things. It can mean that you're accepting his friendship on a new level and you're welcoming that new form of intimacy or..."

"You want to jump his bones?" Chloe guessed.

"Basically, yes." Aubrey confirmed.

It was all Beca could do not to slam her head on the counter. Chloe poured her a coffee to go.

"It could totally be either one," Aubrey told her.

"Yeah," Beca said "it's probably the friend thing."

"I'm sure it is," Aubrey gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'm going to go study," Beca took her coffee "good talk, though."

She gave Aubrey a smile and tried to ignore Chloe's pointed looks.

"Bye," Aubrey smiled.

"We'll talk later," Chloe said, her voice dripping with subtext. Great.

Beca exited out the back door, looking for Jesse. She couldn't see him but she could hear something weird. A birdcall?

"Becaw! Becaw!" She turned to her left and saw Jesse pop out from behind a bike rack.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

Jesse pulled two breakfast burritos from his pockets.

"I promised you breakfast," Jesse said as if it was obvious.

"Thanks," she smiled at him. Maybe she could accept his offer of deeper friendship if it meant she got free food.


	16. Chapter 16: Broadening Horizons

**Author's Note: Hi! This chapter explores Beca's feelings for Jesse. It shows a more vulnerable side of her that I thought would it would be interesting to explore. I have about five more chapters planned before I wrap this story up. The next one should take place after the big fight at the competition. Please keep reviewing and thank you for reading!**

Becca hated showing people her work. It wasn't like she wasn't confident in it. It was just the waiting. Those few moments where you have to sit next to the person who's listening to your song and watch them decide whether or not they like it. And then decide just how honest to be with you. It sucks.

She watched Jesse listen to her most recent track, it was a mash up of Ke$ha's

"Die Young" and One Direction's "Live While We're Young." She knew it was a desperate attempt to get Luke to play something, _anything_, of hers' on the radio but the sounds sounded good together.

She tried her best to not look hungry for feedback. She kept her expression calm, relaxed. She didn't care what he thought. She was just showing off a new track.

God who was she kidding? She cared.

_Like it. Please like it._ She thought to herself. After all, if she wasn't good at this, what was the point. She'd never be successful if people didn't like her work. Why wasn't he saying anything?

"This is insanely catchy," Jesse told her, giving her a huge grin.

Beca clung to her chair, for the first time she desperately wanted to fling herself into his arms. It was such a relief to hear that it wasn't a piece of shit.

"Thanks," Beca returned his smile and remained in her chair "I thought I'd try something really poppy. Luke hasn't really been into my indie-er stuff."

"Fuck Luke," Jesse blurted out.

Beca's jaw dropped. Jesse was never mean. Goofy. Sarcastic. Occasionally annoyed. But never mean.

"Shit, Swanson," Beca laughed "the radio station has changed you. I think it's a bad influence on you.

"It's a real unsavory crowd," Jesse agreed.

"How's rehearsal going?" Beca asked him "Are you ready for our first big aca-competition?"

"Are you actually asking me a real question about my life, Mitchell?" Jesse asked "Are you taking an interest in me?"

"It's inside the realm of possibility," Beca laughed.

"Wait," Jesse feigned indignation "you're just trying to figure out our setlist. You were going to seduce it out of me. I won't tell you, you harlot! I will defend the honor Bumper Allen instilled in me. You can torture me all you want. I'm not giving up a thing."

"Really?" Beca played along, a glint in her eye. She leaned in close to him, almost touching noises "Sure about that?"

"I fold. What do you want to know?"

"That was easy," Beca grinned at him, still close. She could feel his breath on her cheek. Suddenly, her dream from a few weeks ago began to creep back into her mind.

"What now?" Jesse asked. She knew what he wanted. He was looking at her the same way he looked at her last week when he leaned in for the kiss during The Breakfast Club. She knew he wouldn't make another move after last time. He'd put himself out there and she had just sat there. Paralyzed.

She could do it right now. They were alone in her room, sitting on her bed. The situation was ideal. But she couldn't help but think that if it went wrong she lost the only person at Barden who just wanted to be her friend. Sure she was getting closer to the Bella's but they were a team. They had to get along to win. In a lot of ways she was just another piece in their puzzle. Jesse didn't need her to win. He didn't have any ulterior motive for liking her. He just did.

She couldn't afford to lose that right now.

"Sabotage," Beca told him, leaning back "I take the information you've given me back to Bella headquarters and we slaughter you in competition."

"Naturally," Jesse said clearly making an effort not to look disappointed.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Beca blurted out.

Jesse was stunned. He didn't seem to get that this was a gesture. If she couldn't be with him that way she could at least try to be a better friend. She wanted to be nice. It wasn't something she was familiar with.

"I'm sorry," Jesse was completely taken aback "I must be having a stroke because I think I just heard you ask to watch a movie with me."

"Don't let it go to your head," Beca snapped "I can want to broaden my horizons. It's not unheard of."

"So you _want_ to watch a movie with me?" Jesse asked as if he still couldn't believe it.

"Hurry up before I change my mind," Beca ordered.

"I'll run to my dorm and grab one," Jesse leaped to his feet.

"A short one!" Beca called after him.

She smiled as he left. He seemed happy.


	17. Chapter 17: Really?

**Author's Note: This takes place while Beca's in jail. There's lots of stuff about Jesse's feelings for Beca and her relationship with the Bellas. Let me know if you like it!**

She had punched someone for him. An actual person. And now she was in jail. Jail. Real jail. Jesse couldn't stop pacing and running his hands through his hair. He was full of nervous energy. Beca was going to jail for defending his honor. He remember the look in her eyes just a few minutes ago.

_ The police were hauling her away in handcuffs and he just stood there, powerless. _

_ "Are you sure this is necessary?" Jesse asked._

_ "Assault and destruction of private property?" the officer's words dripped with sarcasm "Maybe we should let her off with a warning."_

_ "It's fine," Beca actually looked apologetic in the presence of this level of authority. That's how Jesse knew it was really bad. She wasn't rolling her eyes or making jokes. This was serious. _

_ "Beca..." he trailed off, unsure of what to say. _

_ "It's fine, Swanson," she mustered a mocking smile "just don't let me rot in the big house, okay?"_

_ "Sure," Jesse said, unable to come up with a witty response. _

Why hadn't he done something? He could have said he did it. Wasn't that the chivalrous thing to do? To take the fall for the girl he...

But she didn't feel the same way. Weren't you only supposed to take the fall for someone you were sure felt the same way? Even so, he wished he had done something other than stand there.

"Hey loser," he heard a voice behind him and he spun around to see Fat Amy wearing her denim jacket over her Bellas uniform.

"Hey Amy," Jesse gave her a small smile "what are you doing here?"

He gestured to the outside of the jail, where he had taken a cab.

"The girls are dropping me off," she pointed to the bus that was idling in the lot, they must have gotten gas somehow.

"Oh," Jesse was too stressed to offer anything more.

"Chloe wanted to come but her name's on the rental slip for the bus and they need to have it back by midnight," Amy told him.

Jesse nodded. What was he going to do? He had to help Beca. She wanted his help, right? She had asked for his help, hadn't she?

"You must be pissed at me, huh?" Amy asked.

Jesse looked up at her, surprised. He'd never seen Amy look so vulnerable. She wasn't making jokes or a silly faces. She seemed genuinely sorry about what she had done to Beca.

"No, of course not!" Jesse cried, wanting to ease her pain "I'm mad at myself. If she hadn't felt like she needed to defend me, she wouldn't be in this mess. So much for being a pacifist."

"Yeah, maybe," Amy said "but if I hadn't felt the need to shove a trophy up that guy's butt she never would have broken that window."

"I guess we're both to blame," Jesse said looking at his shoes "at least you're her friend. You were just being you. She probably thinks I'm just a stupid wimp who can't fight his own battles."

"You really think that's how she sees you?" Amy asked.

Jesse shrugged.

"She likes you, moron!" Amy yelled at him "Beca's not the kind of chick who gushes over you and pours her heart out. She _shows_ you how she feels. I know she likes me because she laughs at my jokes and she always gives me a handful of pretzels out of the bag she gets from the vending machine during dance rehearsals. I know she likes you because she hangs out with you even though Aubrey is constantly on the verge of kicking her out of the Bellas for being seen with you!"

"What?" Jesse knew that Aubrey was harsh but he had always thought that it was a relatively small thing, that Beca liked being friends with him because it allowed her to stick it to Aubrey in a little, harmless way.

"Yeah," Amy told him "she cares about you. She punched a guy out for you. And she's a twig, you know that hurt her hand. Like a lot."

Jesse smiled at the memory of the goofy grimace she had made after socking that idiot for him.

"And," she added "she was totally smiling during your set tonight."

"Really?" Jesse looked hopeful.

"Totally," Amy nodded "you could tell it took all of her self control to keep from cheering for you. She likes to play it cool but she cares about us. All of us. But especially you. You just need to keep fighting for her."

In a moment of complete joy, Jesse threw his arms around Fat Amy and squeezed her tight.

"Woah, down boy!" Amy cried "Beca might see and I don't want her to hit me too."

"Thank you," Jesse said, letting her go.

"It's nothing," Amy shrugged.

"Why don't you go with the rest of the Bellas?" Jesse offered "I'll wait for Beca. I think I should call her dad."

"That's probably a good idea," Amy agreed "this is a situation that could use a real adult."

She turned to leave.

"And Jesse?" she turned back to him.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Don't give up," Amy grinned at him and gave him a thumbs up.

Jesse returned her look.

"Wait up, aca-bitches!" Fat Amy cried after the bus.


	18. Chapter 18: Radio Silence

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thanks for your reviews on the last chapter. This chapter is based on Beca and Jesse's conversation in front of the police station. It's about the aftermath of her arrest. Only a few more chapters left. Please keep reviewing! **

_"I don't need you're help. You're not my boyfriend!"_

Why had she said that? That had nothing to do with anything. Sure she was mad that he had gone to her dad. But she shouldn't have brought that into it.

It had been a month since the night she got arrested. None of the Bellas had talked to her. Her dad hadn't forgiven her but he didn't seem mad anymore. Just disappointed. Which was worse than mad.

And Jesse had been artfully avoiding her. This was way worse than the week after her dad walked in on them. This wasn't an awkward misunderstanding. When Jesse saw her on campus, he turned around and walked the other direction.

How could she blame him? She had told him she didn't need him around. So he disappeared. And it sucked.

Whatever. There was no turning back now. He had overstepped his bounds. He had no right to call her dad. And she hadn't said anything that wasn't true. Jesse was definitely not her boyfriend. Definitely not.

_"Got it."_

He had backed down. Admitted defeat. Jesse had never considered himself a quitter. But he was quitting this.

He was not going to go after Beca Mitchell anymore. He was done making a fool out of himself, pining after this girl that couldn't have made it more clear that she was uninterested in him.

Why had he kept going after her? Did he really think that he was so endearing that Beca would just stop being guarded and fall for him? How stupid was he?

Never mind that. He wasn't after her and she wasn't after him. He was focusing on the ICCA finals. Because it was Bumper's senior year, they were doing a three song Sisqo showcase for Bumper. He was taking every solo and the Trebels were just his backup. And Jesse was going to be the best he could be and if he was lucky, Bumper would make him his successor. Which meant next year, he could let Benji in.

Even though it set his teeth on edge, he was going to be nice to Bumper. And avoid Beca. No problem.

Even the prospect of her own show at the station over Spring Break felt hollow. She had no one to celebrate with. No one but herself. She didn't know why she cared. She had only planned on being here a year.

Maybe that was the way to look at it. She was never meant to be close to anyone at Barden. She was always supposed to get in and get out. It was better not to care about the people she was going to leave behind when she went to LA.

She told herself this because it felt way better than crying herself to sleep when Kimmy Jin was out with her friends.


	19. Chapter 19: Voicemails

**Author's Note: This chapter is about the voicemails that Beca left Jesse over break (sorry that it's another sad one). Thank you so much for reviewing I really, really appreciate it!**

Monday

She was in the radio station by herself. It was weird being the only one here but Beca had never minded being alone before. So why start now?

It was nice having her own show over break. She could play whatever she wanted, even her own mixes. It was great.

But it would have been a lot better if all of her friends didn't hate her. They didn't hate her did they? Aubrey did. And Jesse... well, she didn't know about Jesse but she had certainly given him reasons to be angry.

She shifted in her seat, settling in for the night when she heard a noise from her pocket. Was she getting a call? No. She was making one. She stared at her phone, it said:

Jesse

0:32

She must have pocket dialed him and gotten his voicemail. Had he ignored her call or had he just not seen it? Not that she had meant to call him. But he didn't know that.

_Jesus, Beca, say something!_ she thought to herself.

"Jesse, hey!" she started out lamely "I think I pocket dialed you. I'm at the radio station...I just-"

She thought about the look on his face when she yelled at him after the competition. It was even worse than when she'd yelled at him for calling her dad. At least there she had a reason to be upset with him. But this time, he was just trying to stick up for her with Aubrey. He was trying to tell her that they were just friends. And for some reason that had made Beca's blood boil.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper as she thought about that night.

She shook her head. There was no fixing that now.

"... for pocket dialing you," she finished "bye."

She hung up.

Wednesday

There wasn't really a lot to do at the radio station. Beca basically got there, uploaded her playlist and occasionally introduced certain songs. It left her with a lot of downtime. Mostly she made mixes.

But one night she was stretching her legs and walking around the office when she stumbled upon something weird. Okay, stumbled was a more innocent way of saying she was digging in the desk drawers and found something but still.

"Jesse!" she had dialed his number before she could even think about it "Luke does boy band covers! He has an entire You Tube channel of just him singing Jesse McCartney, Backstreet Boys, and One Direction and stuff. It's hilarious. You have to find him. His channel name is CoolGuitarTunez. With a Z! Seriously, this is like the funniest thing I've ever seen. Call me."

She hung up. Wondering if she should have done that.

Thursday

She checked her phone. Nothing.

She introduced another song.

She spun around in the desk chair.

She sorted through some new CDs that had been sent to the station.

She checked her phone. Nothing.

She looked at shelf full of CDs by the desk and she saw the Breakfast Club soundtrack.

He still hadn't called her back.

****************************************************************************************************Friday

It was late, she was vulnerable, and she had just seen The Breakfast Club for the first time. After wiping the tears from her cheeks she picked up her phone and called him. It went straight to voicemail.

"Hey," she said "I just watched The Breakfast Club. And you were right. It was great."

She let that hang there for a second, gathering the courage to say what she was about to.

"You were right about a lot of stuff, actually," she said "you were right to call my dad that night. You were right to stand up for me when Aubrey was yelling at me."

Tears started to form in her eyes again. But not because of the movie this time.

"I was wrong to yell at you for that stuff. You were just being a good friend to me and I treated you like shit. That's not fair. It's just, you're so great at being close to people and settling in. And I've never been able to do that. I can't let myself... be with people. I can't stay in one place because I don't want to get too close."

She sniffed.

"And this whole year I've been feeling closer to... the Bellas, and my Dad, and you. Jesse, I miss you. I miss you a lot. I didn't mean to make you think that I didn't want you around. I do."

She cleared her throat, trying to make her voice sound normal again.

"I'm sorry, Jesse. I just..."

She trailed off. Not knowing what else to say.

"...please talk to me again."

She hung up. Hoping that that was enough.


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry it took so long for me to update. Only a chapter or two left! No Beca in this one but let me know what you think. **

For the longest time Jesse couldn't listen to her messages. He couldn't listen to them. He couldn't delete them. All he could do was stare at them every time he looked at his phone.

Why listen to them? Nothing was going to change between them? He was just going to keep putting himself out there for a girl who wanted nothing to do with him. Every time he tried to reach out she pushed him away. He needed to stop wasting both of their time.

But he still wouldn't delete the messages.

When she came to his dorm to try to talk he still hadn't listened to them. She apologized for yelling at him. But they both knew that wasn't the problem. Jesse could take whatever Beca could throw at him as long as she let him in.

He had put him self out there for her. He had sang to her, he had tried to kiss her, he helped bail her out of jail, he stood up for her when Aubrey was yelling at her. But nothing seemed to change between them.

So he lied. It wasn't technically a lie. He had gotten the messages. He just hadn't listened to them.

He hadn't listened to them because he was almost positive that he would forgive her the instant he heard them. They would crush his resolve and any ounce of resentment he held towards her would be gone. And if that happened he would go back to chasing her and she'd go back to pushing him away and neither of them would ever be happy.

He was done.

He ran into Fat Amy and Chloe on his way out of the dining hall the day before the finals. He gave them a small smile and a wave, sure that they didn't want to talk to him.

"Not so fast, Swanson!" Amy called after him, actually jogging a bit to catch up. Chloe followed her.

"Can I help you two?" he asked, unable to hide his amusement at the fact that Amy was panting slightly from the brief run.

"Yes," Chloe replied "you can tell us why you gave up on Beca."

She and Chloe crossed their arms, giving him matching accusatory glares.

Jesse sighed. This was going to be a weird conversation.

"I didn't-"

"Yeah, you did." Amy's eyes narrowed, she was not having any of his crap.

"But the question remains..." Chloe took over "why?"

"Beca doesn't want me chasing her anymore," Jesse tried to explain diplomatically "she made that pretty clear. So I've decided to stop embarrassing myself."

"Bullshit," Amy fired back, putting her hands on her hips.

"Look," Jesse said, getting exasperated "Beca doesn't want me. She doesn't want anyone. That's not going to change. Why should I keep trying if I'm just going to keep hitting that wall with her?"

"So you don't have feelings for her anymore?" Chloe challenged.

Jesse remained silent.

"Aha!" Amy cried triumphantly.

Chloe grins and she and Amy share congratulatory high fives.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you ladies, but that doesn't change anything," Jesse tried to keep his voice level.

"But she-" Chloe started

"Me and Beca aren't ever going to work," Jesse cut her off "no matter how I feel. I'm sorry."

Jesse turned to leave.

"Jesse," Amy called after him.

He turned around.

"Think about it, okay?" Chloe pleaded with him.

Jesse gave them a sad smile and nodded before returning to his dorm.

He sat down on his bed and pulled out his phone. He started the first message. It was quite for a few seconds and then-

"Jesse, hey!" he hung up. He couldn't do it. His finger hovered over the delete button but, he couldn't do that either.

Shit.


	21. Chapter 21: Don't Give Up

**Author's Note: This chapter is super long. I realized I had a lot of loose ends to tie up before I end this story so there will be at least one more chapter. There's lots of sassy Benji in this one. Let me know what you think. **

They both threw themselves into preparing for the ICCAs. Even though he was friendly while she was hostile and she was guarded and he was trusting, in this way, they were alike. Whenever they were stressed or upset, they threw themselves into music.

Beca spent all her time arranging the final number. Layering song over song and refusing to think about Jesse and how he wouldn't give her a second chance even though she was finally ready to try with him. How could she show him that?

She couldn't. She was always going to be guarded. She was always going to be slow to trust people. She was always going to be searching for a biting remark every time another person got closer to her. Nothing about her had changed.

Beca slapped herself in the forehead with her palm.

"Oh my god!" she cried much to Kimmy Jin's dismay.

The Breakfast Club.

She had watched a whole movie for him. Because of him. She had done it and he was right. It was great. Every minute up until that perfect ending.

She could change.

She was back with the Bellas, even after her big blowout with Aubrey. She wasn't bailing anymore. She was in it for the long hall. Barden wasn't just a pit stop before she went to LA. It was her home.

These girls were her home. Jesse was her home. This was a year she would never forget.

In a moment of pure inspiration, Beca frantically scrolled through her music library until she found it. The song that was going to tie their whole number together.

Jesse, on the other hand, was less inspired in his work. Bumper made them rehearse day and night. And since he was a senior and it was his last ICCAs, Bumper had demanded all the solos. So Jesse was relegated to singing background oohs and ahhs.

Not that this would normally be a problem, but Jesse was in desperate need of more to occupy his mind. Because as he stood in the back, step-ball-changing and harmonizing with Donald all he could think about was Beca.

Did she completely hate him for not accepting her apology? Was it better if she did hate him because that meant they had a clean break? Even if he did accept it, where would that put them? Back with him pining after a girl who at best, tolerated him? Maybe that was going too far. Beca had liked him. As a friend at least. Why else would she have showed him her music and let him hang out in her room?

None of this would be on his mind if it hadn't been for Chloe and Fat Amy messing with his head. Why had they done that? Had Beca said something?

_Stop it, Jesse_ he told him self and attempted to refocus on the Cisqo medly they would be performing at Lincoln Center.

That night, just like every night for the last few weeks, Benji asked him what was wrong. And instead of saying "nothing" just like he had every time before, he told him everything. About how much he liked Beca, about how he felt like she liked him, but no matter what he did she just wouldn't let him in. How he couldn't keep chasing someone who was never going to let him catch her. How Chloe and Fat Amy had gotten his hopes up again and how her knew it was stupid to think he had a real chance with Beca but he really, really wanted to believe it.

Benji didn't interrupt once. He just nodded quietly and periodically gave Jesse understanding smiles.

"Yikes," Benji said when he was done.

"Yeah," Jesse laughed.

"It sounds like you have a choice," Benji said "you can either keep going after Beca no matter what or you can give up."

"That's it?" Jesse asked.

"You're saying you can't be with Beca because she'll never change. And I get that. You can't be with a person who pushes everyone, including you away." Benji clarified, not judging him, just trying to understand.

Unable to say anything, Jesse just nodded.

"Well, who are you to say she can't change?" Benji asked "Who are you to say she hasn't changed already?"

Jesse just sat there, speechless, as Benji picked up steam.

"I mean, for someone who claims to really like her you have kind of a low opinion of her. And yourself." Benji told him.

Jesse tried to object, but Benji kept going.

"Would the old Beca have left you those messages? Would the old Beca have come here to apologize even though you returned none of her calls? Would the old Beca have gone back to the Bellas even after Aubrey embarrassed her like that?"

Benji wasn't wrong.

"Are you worried that she won't change?" Benji asked "Or are you afraid that she has and you might actually have to step up to the plate and get this girl?"

"Hey!" Jesse stood up, "I do not have a low opinion of Beca. I think she's amazing. She's smart, funny, and incredibly talented and when she actually talks to me she has this way of making me feel like I'm the only person in the room. But I can't keep making an ass out of myself."

"Then stop being an ass, and start being awesome," Benji told him "don't give up."

Jesse sat back down, taking all of that in.

"Jeez, Benji," Jesse was shocked "that was amazing."

"I get women," Benji said with a shrug.

Jesse thought a lot about what Benji had said but for the first time in his life, he had no idea how to approach someone. It had never been difficult for him to strike up a conversation with someone but every time Beca saw her he froze.

What could he say? "Sorry I thought that you could never like me. I don't know if it's because I think you have trust issues or I think I'm not worth your time but... wanna go out sometime?"

But before he could work up the courage to tell her that he wanted to be with her no matter what, Bumper dropped out of the Trebels and everything was crazy. He had to step up and lead, pick an entirely new setlist, and integrate Benji into the team. Now that he wanted to think about Beca he had no time.

A few days before the finals, Beca was walking across the quad to rehearsal. She was late so she was walking as fast as she could.

"Beca!" she whipped her head around to see Benji, panting, trying to keep up with her.

"Benji?" Beca smiled.

"Hey," he said, giving her a shy smile in return "I have to tell you something."

"Well, I'm late so make it quick."

"Don't give up" Benji said.

"Huh?"

"Don't give up," he repeated forcefully.

"Oh," she said, realizing what he meant.

Benji turned around and left, but not before giving her a knowing smile.

Beca headed to practice, a bounce in her step.


	22. Chapter 22: Endings Are The Best Part

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! This is the last chapter of "I Won't Tell if You Don't". It takes place at the finals so it has a lot of song lyrics and dialogue from the film (which I obviously don't own). Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I am writing another story for Beca and Jesse called Pay Your Dues but I'm thinking about doing a sequel to this story. Let me know if you'd be interested in that. Enjoy!**

What they said:

"_Hey"_

"_Hey"_

"_Uh- Good luck,"_

"_Thanks, you too."_

What she meant:

"Hey Jesse, I miss you and I hope what I'm about to do convinces you that I really, really like you."

What he meant:

"I miss you too and I wish I could tell you, and if it were any other time I would. But if you turned me down right now there's now way I could go out there and make my team proud."

Beca gave him a tight smile and Jesse turned to face his team. Benji caught his eye and grinned. Jesse returned the look. He had that anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach that just wasn't going to go away until the music started and he could get on that stage and sing. He wasn't going to think about Beca and how much he missed her. He was going to sing his heart out and win the ICCAs for his boys.

Beca shook her head. She couldn't think about Jesse right now. She had to think of her friends. The girls who had completely changed her. This was their time to shine.

The Trebels performed and they were amazing. Without Bumper and his ridiculous showboating they were perfect. Jesse was phenomenal, which was to be expected. Beca couldn't help but grin when Benji took the stage. But even as Benji belted out his solo, Beca's eyes always searched for Jesse. She had to get him back.

Fat Amy nudged her, noticing who she was looking at. Beca rolled her eyes, trying to play it off.

"It's going to work," Amy whispered.

"How do you know?" Beca asked, not a hint of levity in her voice.

"I have my ways," Beca couldn't help but laugh at the mysterious smile Amy wore.

The Bellas took the stage. This was a huge moment. Beca had both the pitch pipe and Aubrey's blessing to lead the Bellas. She trusted these girls and she wanted to show everyone what they could do.

They launched into Price Tag. Starting in the style of the Old Bellas. Beca loved this part, they way they fooled the audience into thinking this would be just another vanilla performance until-

"_It ain't about monayyyy-"_

Lilly made that amazing sound, like a record scratching and the Bellas started to really get into the number. Beca knew it was about to happen. She was about to see if Jesse could forgiver her. She spotted him the audience. He looked... resigned. To what? Was he upset he had to listen? Or was it hard for him to see her? Either way she had to get his attention.

"_Hey, hey, hey, hey!"_

Beca hit her mark and walked through the two lines the Bellas made as she belted out the beginning to Jesse's favorite movie song.

_"Won't you come see about me?_

_ I'll be alone_

_ Dancing you know it baby"_

She had his attention. He was definitely looking at her now. But how was he feeling? Shocked? Surprised? Upset?

_"Tell me your troubles and doubts_

_ Giving me everything inside and out"_

Was that a smile? He was definitely surprised.

_"Don't you forget about me_

_As you walk on by_

_ Will you call my name?"_

Come on Jesse. Do something.

_"As you walk on by_

_ Will you call my name?"_

Anything.

_"As you walk on by_

_ Will you call my name?"_

And that's when he looked at her and slowly put his fist up in the air. Just like Judd Nelson. He was telling her that he got the reference and he knew what it meant. She watched the whole movie and she knew that endings were worth the wait. And so did he.

She threw herself into the rest of the number and just like Amy said: they smashed it. It was perfect. They hit every note and didn't miss a step.

The applause was thundering in her ears as she hugged her team. These were her best friends and they had just done the coolest thing ever. Because Beca was big enough to admit it now, a cappella was cool.

After the initial congratulations she walked into the audience, scanning the crowd for Jesse. She saw him, standing up, waiting for her. She made a beeline for him.

_"I told you," _he grinned at her "_endings are the best part"_

_ "You're such a weirdo," _she replied before doing what she should have done the first time they listened to that song.

She crashed her lips into his, unable to stay away any longer. He grabbed her and pulled her as close as he could with the row of seats in between them. She had to pull away to smile because if you had told her six months ago that she would be at the ICCA finals making out with a Trebelmaker she never would have believed it.

But she was. And it was aca-awesome.


End file.
